The Brotherhood of the Best
by Phiechotic
Summary: What would've happened if Marco had been able to get to Ace before Akainu had? What kind of scar would it have left if he had made it /just/ out of time?


Ace's voice is one that Marco knew he would recognize, no matter how faint it happened to be. This held true when he heard that voice calling to him from across the stretch of the battlefield. "The War of the Best" was the name of this gruesome scene. 'The best,' MArco thought to himself as he felt the familiarity of the blue flames converting his body into that of a phoenix. As soon as his feet left the ground, his brother came into view. The blond opened his mouth like he was going to call out to Ace, but at the sight of what was actually happening, his jaw clamped shit quickly. Instead, he narrowed his eyes silently and dove in Ace's direction. Navy Admirals were nothing to fool with; even the Whitebeard Pirates could admit that. When Marco saw the Admiral nearing Ace, this notion was the last one to cross his mind. He swooped down next to Ace, his form returning to normal. The fire that remained was in the gaze which made an obvious assault on Sakazuki who was towering before MArco and the two males now behind him. "Straw Hat!" Marco called to the male farthest behind him. In response, he heard a soft grunt from the younger. When he thought he had given Luffy enough time to get away, he turned his back to the Admiral, who had been aiming for his friend just a few moments before. The sight of such a brave face as Ace's was, at that point, brought an unbelievable hope to the blond, bringing a small smile over his lips.

Ace's lips parted and nothing came out but a shallow breath, like a gasp. MArco gave off a slow exhale, looking downward. Ave's lips were still parted and MArco could see now what had interrupted his friend's speech. Never, in Marco's life, did he think he would see what was happening. There was a fist jutting from his chest and while it did nothing against the flames of the phoenix, he could smell the damage being burned into the chest of the male in front of him. MArco's hands jutted out toward Ace, resting on his chest on either side of the magma formed mass that came between the two. While it did nothing to hurt him, Marco could feel Sakazuki's fist pushing farther through him, trying so desperately to reach Ace.

In his own desperation, Marco pushed forward, small flames rising from his fingers. The blue flames grew in size, lapping and flickering against Ace's skin, trying to fight against the damage he was taking from the touch of the magma. Sakazuki pushed forward again and MArco could feel the pressure of Ace against him weakening. He watched the blue flames mixing together with the orange ones which normally engulfed Ace, but to little avail as the heat from the magma continued to make its assault on Ace's chest.

When he felt the pressure behind him change again, Marco glanced back to the Admiral just in time to see the smallest hint of a smirk tugging at the corner of his mouth. Almost in sync with the change of expression, he felt one last push coming from Sakazuki which was accompanied by a seemingly breathless grunt which pulled his gaze back to Ace.

He looked back to Ace, unsure of what he would see, but once he did, he wished he hadn't. Sakazuki had managed to pierce straight through Ace's chest. MArco could see the light of the magma reflecting back to him in the eyes of the younger brother who had been told to leave when this began. Meeting Ace's eyes, MArco kept his gaze right there. HE refused to look down. He could tell when Sakazuki began to pull back, only by the fading of the heat which had been emanating next to and between his hands. A low yell released from Marco's throat as he reached to push Luffy away from the heat. Marco left the two males he had just been facing and turned back to Sakazuki. Another yell rang low from his throat, arms rising and bursting into wink like flames. He knew he could leave Ace to Luffy. In the meantime, he would take it upon himself to face the evil that had taken his brother in such a crude manner. He could no longer hear the screaming, gunshots, and cannon fire that had surrounded him just a moment before. His ears were flooded with the beating of his own heart and his vision narrowed to see nothing but the devil before him. The rest of his body burst into blue flame as he returned to the form he had arrived to the area in. His wings rose once more in a challenge to the devil before him. Any kind of fear was gone and at that moment, he was ready to headrush Satan himself; the Navy Admiral, Akainu.


End file.
